Obama: 'Trayvon Martin could have been me'

In unscheduled and unusually personal remarks, President Barack Obama tried Friday to explain why African-Americans were upset about last week's acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

ON A SCHOOL BUS FOR WEEKS AND NO ONE DID ANYTHING TO STOP IT. BUT TONIGHT, WE BEGIN WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA'S COMMENTS ON THE ZIMMERMAN VERDICT. GOOD EVENING, I'M GAARD SWANSON. I'M LAUREN ROWE. IT HAPPENED TODAY. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME AFTER THE VERDICT WAS REACHED THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS SPOKEN OUT ABOUT REACTION TO THE DECISION. THE PRESIDENT EXPANDED ON A STATEMENT THAT HE ISSUED SUNDAY NIGHT SAYING TODAY THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD REVIEW SOME STATE AND LOCAL LEGISLATION LIKE FLORIDA'S STAND-YOUR-GROUND LAW AND PROTESTS SHOULD NOT INCLUDE VIOLENCE. LOUIS BOLDEN IS LIVE AT THE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE DOWNTOWN WHERE A RALLY IS PLANNED FOR TOMORROW. LOUIS, THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN CRITICIZED FOR NOT SPEAKING OUT SOONER, BUT THIS TIMING IS INTERESTING. YEAH, LAUREN. THE PRESIDENT SPOKE OUT THE DAY BEFORE RALLIES ARE GOING TO BE HELD AT FEDERAL COURTHOUSES AROUND THE COUNTRY. HE WAS CANDID. HE SPOKE ABOUT THE CASE AND ABOUT RACE. I SEND MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS AS WELL AS MICHELLE'S TO THE FAMILY OF TRAYVON MARTIN. MAKING A SURPRISE VISIT IN THE WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING ROOM, PRESIDENT OBAMA SPOKE OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE GEORGE ZIMMERMAN WAS ACQUITTED. HE SAYS HE HAS WATCHED THE DISCUSSION OVER THE PAST WEEK, THE RALLIES AND THE RIOTS. IF I SEE ANY VIOLENCE, THEN I WILL REMIND FOLKS THAT THAT DISHONORS WHAT HAPPENED TO TRAYVON MARTIN AND HIS FAMILY. THE PRESIDENT ALSO POINTED OUT THAT HE REALIZES IT'S A LOCAL ISSUE HANDLED ON A LOCAL LEVEL. BUT BECAUSE IT'S TURNED INTO A NATIONAL DEBATE, HE WANTED TO WEIGH IN, PARTICULARLY ABOUT RACE. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY IS LOOKING AT THIS ISSUE THROUGH A SET OF EXPERIENCES. AND A HISTORY. THAT DOESN'T GO A WAY. THE PRESIDENT GOT DEEPLY PERSONAL ABOUT RACE, AND WHILE HE HAS OPINIONS ABOUT THE STAND-YOUR-GROUND LAW AND HOW TO MOVE FORWARD, FIRST HE SAID HIS THOUGHTS ARE WITH TRAYVON MARTIN'S PARENTS, WHO HE SAYS HAVE HANDLED THE SITUATION WITH DIGNITY. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH AND IT'S REMARKABLE HOW THEY'VE HANDLED IT. NOW THE PRESIDENT SAID HE BELIEVES JUDGE DEBRA NELSON ACTED PROFESSIONALLY. HE SAID THE JURY HAS SPOKEN AND THAT IS HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS. BUT HE DIDN'T END THERE, DID HE, LOUIS? HE ACTUALLY SAID HE HAD SOME SUGGESTIONS THAT HE WAS KIND OF TOSSING AROUND WITH HIS STAFF STILL. THAT'S RIGHT. THAT 10-MINUTE OR SO SPEECH THAT HE MADE, HE ACTUALLY LAID OUT A THREE-POINT PLAN OF HOW THE COUNTRY CAN MOVE FORWARD, AND

Comments

The views expressed are not those of clickorlando.com, WKMG or its affiliated companies. This is a community moderated forum (Please note the 'Flag' button). By posting your comments you agree to accept our Terms Of service